While this video is very introductory and is good for everyone over 12 years old, it made me reconsider my own skepticism and that I need to apply my critical thinking to other aspects of my day-to-day life such as vitamins and organic foods.

Even if you don't get much from this video yourself, make copies and pass it around ... and subscribe to Brian's Skeptoid podcast (see link below). Each episode of Skeptoid briefly covers one topic and attempts to apply critical thinking -- not criticism for the sake of criticism -- to discuss what we currently know about that topic and not what some would guess or hope about the topic.

Here Be Dragons - An Introduction To Critical Thinking - by Brian Dunning

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Here Be Dragons is a free 40 minute video introduction to critical thinking. It is suitable for general audiences and is licensed for free distribution and public display.

Most people fully accept paranormal and pseudoscientific claims without critique as they are promoted by the mass media. Here Be Dragons offers a toolbox for recognizing and understanding the dangers of pseudoscience, and appreciation for the reality-based benefits offered by real science.

Here Be Dragons is written and presented by Brian Dunning, host and producer of the Skeptoid podcast, author of Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena, and Executive Producer of The Skeptologists.

You may publicly display this movie for free. You may burn it to DVD or other media and redistribute it for free. You may not create derivative works from it. You may not charge money for its display or distribution, including the cost of media.

Here Be Dragons is copyrighted by Brian Dunning, and all rights are reserved.

NOTE on the DVD:If you wan the full DVD, download it directly. Do not use the DVD torrent! The one currently posted over bittorrent is incomplete. If you get the torrent copy, you will notice that the standard (old) cropped version of the video will play fine, but if you choose the widescreen version, the video will die about 3/4 of the way through.

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Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons. --Michael Shermer

The history of religion is a long attempt to reconcile old custom with new reason, to find a sound theory for an absurd practice. --Sir James George Frazer